Sultaniyya Mausoleum
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| Sultaniyya Mausoleum | |
|---|---|
 Southeastern side of the building, with the minaret partly visible behind (2012 photo) | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| Region | Africa |
| Patron | Sultan Hasan |
| Location | |
| Location | Southern Cemetery, Islamic Cairo, Cairo, Egypt |
  Shown within Egypt | |
| Coordinates | 30°01′26″N 31°15′34″E / 30.02389°N 31.25944°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Mausoleum, Khanqah |
| Style | Mamluk, Islamic |
| Completed | 1350s (exact year unknown) |
| Specifications | |
| Dome | 2 |
| Minaret | 1 |
| Materials | stone |
The Sultaniyya Mausoleum is a Mamluk-era funerary complex located in the Southern Cemetery of the Qarafa (or City of the Dead), the necropolis of Cairo, Egypt. It is believed to have been built in the 1350s and dedicated to the mother of Sultan Hasan.[1][2] It is notable for its unique pair of stone domes.
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Sultan an-Nasir Hasan's mother died when he was still a child, and he was instead raised by a stepmother (named by Maqrizi as either Ardu or Tughay).[1] Little is known about the mausoleum or Sultan Hasan's mother, as no original waqf documents for this building have survived. The building was instead identified indirectly with the help of the waqf document of the nearby Mosque of Nur al-Din, built by the Ottoman governor Masih Pasha in 1575, which mentions a mausoleum belonging to Sultan Hasan's mother standing next to it.[2][1] Additionally, the bold architectural forms of the structure and the fact that the domes are made of stone (rather than brick or wood), suggests that the building was issued from royal patronage. Based on this information, it is believed to have been built by Sultan Hasan during his reign around the 1350s.[2][1] The name sultaniyya means "sultanic" or "royal", and may have been a popular name given to the structure.[1]
The cemetery in which the mausoleum is located was originally a cemetery founded by the Bahri Mamluks in 1290, on land near the Citadel that was formerly used for military training exercises (next to this was also a Mamluk hippodrome which existed for centuries).[3] The mausoleum and khanqah of Amir Qawsun, which was built in 1335, also stands very close by and possessed a similar layout as the Sultaniyya.[2]
A part of the Sultaniyya complex, including its courtyard, has disappeared, and its current remains were restored in modern times.[4] In 2023, the minaret of the complex was disassembled in order to make way for a new highway roundabout, amidst other demolitions in the area. The Egyptian government plans to move the minaret to another location.[5]
